In this interview, James Thompson and Aleks Merhle share their experiences on Technology Transfer (TOT), a form of symbiotic interaction between universities and industries. The concept is centered on bringing skills, knowledge, and methods that are created in universities, to the outside world and other institutions. The main purpose is to spread great ideas that are built in a theoretical setting, and convert them to practical applications that can generate revenue. Technology licensing is a vehicle that allows interested parties to build companies around innovative technologies, while protecting these ideas through appropriate patenting procedures. Universities create an idea, or a patent, that companies can build on to generate profit.

Thompson affirms that TOT has moved educational institutions towards a more active involvement in business, while contributing to the public good. The marvel of the technology licensing process lies in balancing knowledge, publishing, and ownership procedures so that both parties gain. Subject matter experts usually patent before publishing, for example, so that faculty members can accomplish their goals, while allowing for patent protection in the way. In the end, Merhle says, TOT is all about unlocking the value of intellectual capital and innovation. Future entrepreneurs are trained in the process. New, promising markets are found, and society benefits as a whole.